RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/08 21:53:56
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Don: This is yet one more comment on the folly of those who watch over us, while picking our pockets. Low-fat = low taste. It is another sad day for those who remember waking up to the crisp, crackle of bacon. This was cinematic, and in smellevision. While burning leaves denoted autumn, real bacon was part of breakfast. We will never stop the marauders defiling real food, but we can support the rebels: the farmers and the local growers. Tomorrow when I pick up my ham at the local smokehouse, I will get an extra ration of their bacon. I share it with you in spirit.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/08 23:47:27
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Aside from specialty houses like Niman and Nodine's (and there are a bunch more out there), there seem to be a couple of decent supermarket brands. I like Wright's and Richard's (the latter a Louisiana product). The both do thick-sliced and peppered, which we prefer.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/09 00:02:39
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I moved to Eastern Pennsylvania several years ago. Excellent pork products are easy to find here, Hatfield is the standard brand of bacon served in most area diners. It's very good. I prefer Kunzler bacon from Lancaster county, it's actually smoked as opposed to chemical smoke additive.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/09 09:49:58
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Amen on Kunzlers, but if you go to some of the local farmer's markets, you'll find some independent bacon and other meat products in the meat case so you can select your products absent packaging. I usually get the thicker slab bacon when buying it nowadays. As E. Lagasse says, "Pork fat rules!"

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/09 12:05:55
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We have smoked our own and it's delicious......although a little messy.......the fat rendering during the smoking process. Worth the clean-up, though!And I agree with the above posters, Hatfield and Boar's Head are good too.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/09 12:08:15
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What is really terrible is when you go to the grocery store now...the prices...my God in heaven, the prices. And they have the nerve to post them! Milk is going up to over $4 a gallon here...and the excuse..gas prices & mad cow disease.

I think it is time that we all go back to the way it used to be...feeding ourselves. When I am faced with having to pay $1.00 for a dried up bell pepper..then we have problems here. I wanted dried bell peppers but not that way.

And bacon...not even going to go there.

It's a ripoff unless you know someone who has a slaughterhouse or something similiar that will sell to you directly.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/09 18:43:37
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I would have to say that to me....bacon is somewhat like steak in the sense that the thickness of slice does depend on the ratio of meat to fat content. In other words..if the slab is primarily fat with very little meat, then make my slices thinner. And vice versa of course.

The last person I dealt with was down in Atlanta when it came to buying pork privately. It was considerably cheaper, but if you don't really know the person I don't think you get as good a deal.

I actually found someone through a friend who was going to this guy for "pig's ears". Her dog was suffering the effects of arthritis and old age and the vet told her to feed the dog boiled down pig's ears and it would help ease pain and lubricate joints because of the oils in the pork.

So when she went to pick up her weekly allotment of ears.....lol

Sorry if that was off topic..I seem to be doing that today for some reason. My apologies

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/09 19:20:39
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In Arkansas, we have a great local brand, Petit Jean. And for cooking bacon, we always use the restaurant trick of baking it at 375 on a rimmed cookie sheet. No splatter and tastes great. Takes around 15 - 20 minutes depending on your crisp factor.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/09 20:01:37
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Hey GRAMPY, when you cook the bacon this weekend I will open my windows here outside of Denver and hopefully there will be a East wind blowing. As for burning leaves in the fall, I can definately relate to that and miss it, big time!

As for how thick, if you can read newspaper print thru it, it is way too thin. I love "Canadian Bacon" as the slices are at least a eight of an inch and great after fried. Good on a egg and bacon sandwich with some Mayo on a Muffin. Ahhh!

LLEECHEF - When you "smoked" your own (I gotta go there and ask what kind of paper you wrapped it in before lighting) what did you ask the butcher for? Pork flank? I may try that but agree that the fat issue can really mess up the patio under the smoker.

REX - They used to sell Pigs Ears for dogs already dried and packaged. Crunchy for dogs but not on my list of "munchies" with any kind of Salsa.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/09 22:44:37
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Until today, I would have been leery of saying what my favorite bacon is, but I picked up the latest Cooks magazine today & they did a ratings test on bacons & the one I've been getting (are you ready for this) at my local 7-11 takes the top of their barrel too. It's called Farmland and it really is good. I had been going into a little deli & picking up Boar's head but one day I was in a hurry & just picked up this bacon at the 7-11, now I pick up a couple of packs whenever I'm in there. It has a nice split of fat & lean & there is just the right amount of smokey taste. The slices have a nice thickness to them too, you know you have a piece of bacon in your mouth when you bite down.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/10 23:55:46
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I gave up long ago buying the expensive branded bacon. The little locally owened grocery here in town (Jefferson, GA) has a 3 pound pack from a company called "Southwood Farms." Normally, it is about $7, but sometimes as low as $5. It is very thick sliced, and has a much better smoked flavor than the more expensive brands. Plus, it is very thick, and doesn't fall apart. Since I started on the Atkins diet (oops, not doing too well this weekend, the Easter candy has caught me!) I go through about 3 pounds of bacon a week. A lot of lard, too, but that's for another topic.BTW, with all the high fat stuff, my cholesterol has dropped about 35 points since the first of the year.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/13 08:25:28
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We've been buying Niman Ranch at Trader Joe's. Granted, it does come in a 12 oz. package for $3.99, but it is real bacon. Hard, not squishy straight out of the fridge. It renders fat, not water. Our entire family loves it. The added bonus is that the drippings are worth keeping, not like with supermarket bacon. The drippings have an incredible amount of smokey, bacon taste that is great in beans, greens, and spinach salad (!!!). If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, it's worth a try, and half the price it is on Niman's website.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/13 09:28:34
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When I was growing up in southern Michigan, my hungarian grandparents often had "solana" (spelling?) cook-outs for special events. They would buy a large chunk of hungarian smoked solana, which is a type of very fatty bacon, put it on a long pointy stick and hold it over an open fire in the barbeque pit. You keep turning the stick over and over, and when the fat starts to render and drip, you hold it over a piece of fresh Hungarian rye bread (no seeds). Do that for about five minutes until the bread is almost soaked with bacon fat, then dress it with fresh, thinly sliced ripe tomatoes and sweet onion. A little salt and pepper, and then devour, open-faced. We would go through two large loaves of bread for six people, and just eat those heavenly "sandwiches" til we about burst. Oh, the best part: my grandpa would pull out his pocket knife and cut off the crispiest parts of the bacon and dole them out like gold to the smiliest kid around (usually me!!!). Talk about pork fat ruling..... Anyone else ever had this delicacy?

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/13 12:33:47
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The Winn-Dixie Grocery Stores in our area has a bacon in their delis caleed "deli bacon" which is the best I have had in years. It is a thicker slice bacon and frys up really good. It is usually about 3.99 per pound.

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/13 12:43:41
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quote:

Originally posted by oldfrt

Hey GRAMPY, when you cook the bacon this weekend I will open my windows here outside of Denver and hopefully there will be a East wind blowing. As for burning leaves in the fall, I can definately relate to that and miss it, big time!

As for how thick, if you can read newspaper print thru it, it is way too thin. I love "Canadian Bacon" as the slices are at least a eight of an inch and great after fried. Good on a egg and bacon sandwich with some Mayo on a Muffin. Ahhh!

LLEECHEF - When you "smoked" your own (I gotta go there and ask what kind of paper you wrapped it in before lighting) what did you ask the butcher for? Pork flank? I may try that but agree that the fat issue can really mess up the patio under the smoker.

REX - They used to sell Pigs Ears for dogs already dried and packaged. Crunchy for dogs but not on my list of "munchies" with any kind of Salsa.

Have a great Easter all of you. Making the Honeybaked on Sunday.

Don"Pork fat Rules"

When we smoked the bacon we used fresh side pork (bacon!). The only problem was that we smoked it in the fireplace and when we pulled the smoker out, we had a tsunami of liquid fat!

RE: BACON - 12oz's now and not much to eat!2004/04/13 20:15:51
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lleechef - Will try and get some (side pork) this summer and give it a try. Worse case, I will have a lot of bacon fat for two of our favorites "Hot German Potato Salad" or, using the same recipe, fresh Spinach Salad with hot bacon dressing.

Fry the Bacon and remove. Sautee the onions in the Bacon fat till translucent. Add all the rest of the ingrediants and stir till thick over medium heat. Add the bacon back in. Pour into sliced, cooked, potatoes and combine and serve HOT or pour over a Spinach Salad and mix in. Ahhhh!

You can always add some harboiled eggs, chopped, to this also. I always double this recipe as we love the taste of it!